Sven Spengemann was elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore in the 2015 federal election. In addition to serving on the National Defence committee, he serves on the Public Safety and National Security committee. Sven is also an active member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

After a number of years of professional experience in the securities industry, Sven returned to university to complete his law degree at Osgoode Hall and was called to the Bar of Ontario in June 2000. He then pursued graduate degrees at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and Harvard Law School where he completed his doctorate in political and constitutional theory in 2006. Sven’s academic work earned him numerous awards and distinctions, including a Canada-US Fulbright Scholarship.

Sven worked in the Government of Canada’s Privy Council as a Senior Policy Analyst, where he led federal interdepartmental policy processes in the areas of risk management, international cooperation and national safety/security.

Sven also served as a UN official in Baghdad with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). In Iraq, Sven negotiated operational protocols with the US Coalition Forces to ensure operational, security and medical support for the UN Mission. He led a team of international and Iraqi experts to assist the Iraqi Parliament and Kurdistan Regional Government with constitutional and legislative reforms, including oil & gas management, human rights, institutional design, and federalism. His work in Iraq earned him an Osgoode Hall Gold Key alumni award and recognition as a democracy expert in University of Toronto’s Boundless campaign.

Sven is a frequent speaker in the community on international affairs, diplomacy and peacekeeping and has been hosted by the NATO Association to discuss his work with UNAMI and Iraq’s ongoing transition. Sven continues to work closely at the local level with communities from the Middle East and North Africa, including Iraq, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Egypt, Somalia and Syria.